As the train pulled away from the platform, I felt a man pressing harder and harder against my backside. I tried to evade him but couldn’t move an inch in any direction. I looked over my shoulder thinking the buckle of his bag must have been digging into me but there was no bag.

The groper was caught and arrested via good undercover police work, only moments after the woman exited the subway car. Still, the victimized woman was so fearful that she initially didn’t want to work with police.

In order to avoid being a victim by a predator, we need to make ourselves a less obvious target. Based on the narrative, it’s very obvious that she came across as meek, anxious, withdrawn, at least in context. She was an easy target for predation by behaving in this manner. To avoid becoming victimized, don’t act like a victim. Predators go for the easy target, not the hard one. (Note: let me stress that I’m not blaming the victim here, only advising on how to avoid becoming victimized.)

Thankfully, they got the guy. It was luck in this case that undercover officers were present and, importantly, witnessed the woman’s panicked facial expression and behavior. One can only wonder how often this happens and goes unnoticed, except to the victim, who becomes traumatized for months or years following this sort of incident.